McIlwraith Range
Former Queensland Government geologist Robert Logan Jack named the McIlwraith Range, which covers about 3,000 square kilometres of Kaantju, Umpila, Lama Lama and Ajabatha country east of Coen and around 430 kilometres northwest of Cairns, after three-time Premier of Queensland Sir Thomas McIlwraith on 26 December 1879 during a prospecting expedition.
Formed from a volcanic plug, the rugged, dissected granite plateau is approximately 450 metres above sea level, with a high point of 824 metres just northeast of Coen and forming part of the Great Dividing Range. The range, with various rainforest types, forms the southernmost limit of many New Guinean plants and animals, including the spotted cuscus, green tree python, and palm cockatoo. It contains the headwaters of the Archer and Edward Rivers, which flow west to the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Stewart River, which drains east into the Coral Sea to the north of Princess Charlotte Bay. Major peaks include Mount Carter, Mount White, Mount Newberry, and Mount Walsh.
After the Queensland Government and Traditional Owners agreed to create areas of Aboriginal freehold and national park in 1995, the area became Mount Croll Environmental Reserve in February 2006 and KULLA (McIlwraith Range) National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land) and KULLA (McIlwraith Range) Resources Reserve in August 2008. The park is jointly managed by the KULLA (Kaanju, Umpila, Lama Lama and Ayapathu) Land Trust and the Queensland Government.
Missing links:
Robert Logan Jack
Coen
Archer River
Mount Carter
Mount White
Mount Newberry,
Mount Walsh
